Tag Archive for sugar burner

Judging from my email, and comments at the gym, it’s been hard to stick to a healthy food plan over the holidays. Long, busy days and less sleep derail even the best intentions. Don’t stress about it; stress hormones just make everything worse.

We’re 2/3 of the way through December. How about this January, you commit – in your mind starting today – to a cyclical Low Carb/High Fat Diet / Way of Eating? Here’s what I mean:

Since I did the Keto Diet this summer, I’ve cycled my eating to be either Low Carb days that include a starchy vegetable or fruit, ( potatoes, bananas, plantains, or winter squash ), with days when I eat VERY High Fat/Low Carb and ONLY green or cruciferous vegetables. I haven’t done this for my weight, as my weight never really changes ( IF YOU HAVE WEIGHT TO LOSE, YOU’LL LOSE IT EATING THIS WAY I SWEAR, IF YOU DON’T HAVE WEIGHT TO LOSE, THERE’S A MILLION BENEFITS TO THIS WAY OF EATING), but WOW, does it do a number on energy and inflammation. It’s the High Fat component I’m sure, as I’ve been plain old Low Carb for years now. ( Yes, Low Carb has several health and weight loss benefits independent of High Fat!)

Here’s what I’ve experienced in the past 6 months: My varicose veins, which I’ve had since my 2nd pregnancy 22 years ago, are GONE. It’s weird. Some age spots I had on my chest…. GONE. My eyebrows, which had kind of disappeared on the outside ( a sign of poor thyroid function ), have grown back. Inflammation and soreness after a I teach a hard class or have a heavy leg day… much less. And I haven’t been this “regular” in 10 years.

I had to go off a strict Keto plan because my blood pressure went too low ( one night it was 60/40 ), but if you struggle with High Blood Pressure, or Diabetes, or Heart disease, or need to lose weight, then a Keto Diet would be great for you. Interestingly, cycling my days between High Fat/low carb and plan old Low Carb, has allowed me to see low levels of Ketones on the sticks whenever I test.

However, most people I work with don’t want to do a Keto Diet every day; it sounds too hard, and I’ll admit, it takes a LOT of fat, and counting your carbs, to see ketones on the meter or the keto sticks. If you read my summer Posts, you know there’s several advantages to having a low amount of Ketones in your blood, everything from cell repair to cancer cell inhibition. Several decades ago, it would have been normal for us to float in and out of mild ketosis as high fat /low carb/low sugar diets were the norm; NOT ANY MORE.

Now, studies show that burning predominately glucose ( sugar ) is our New Norm. If you’re primarily a sugar burner, that means your body STORES FAT instead of burning fat, even during exercise. Ketones are an excellent fuel source; our muscles, heart, and brain LOVE to burn ketones and literally PREFER to burn ketones or fatty acids OVER glucose.

If you’ve been struggling with weight or health issues, you should do a Cyclic Keto Diet, at least for January. Give it a try. Start today focusing on not only ditching the grains and sugar, but upping your fats, greens, and cruciferous vegetables. It’s NOT boring, and it’s not hard once you get into the swing of things. Look at my What I Eat page for ideas. In the meantime, don’t go hog wild thinking a big diet’s coming up so there’s no sense holding back. That’s a ridiculous mindset that causes weight gain, hormonal havoc, and illness. Stop it.

Instead, focus on LOOKING FORWARD to healthy proteins, healthy fats, and tons of vegetables. Take control of your thoughts and PLAN to succeed at this. There’s even delicious Keto Desserts you can eat every day if you want. I’ll post my meals throughout the month of January. Don’t let this be just about your weight; read and learn about the benefits of Low Carb and Ketogenic eating, there’s so much science now and you need to get that science in your head if you want to make real changes.

Hesitant? Sound daunting? Afraid to give up bread, pasta, pizza, and sweets? You’re addicted. Quit listening to that part of your brain.

Where were you a year ago in your weight and health? Are you still there today? Has anything changed for the better in the past year? Stop the crazy train diet cycle. You can be different, you can be better, you can be really, really, happy with yourself! God didn’t make losers. Manifest a positive, productive mindset. Order the books, take control of your thoughts, and determine to be better every day in 2015. Next year, on December 21, 2015, you could be a whole different, better you!

Does your body burn fat all day, or does it burn sugar/glucose all day? That TOTALLY depends on your diet. And I’m not talking about the Old Fashioned Conventional Wisdom Diet: eat low-fat, low-cal, and exercise a ton. That diet is a Sugar Burning Diet; there’s too much hard scientific research now showing that if we’re Sugar Burners, we’re setting ourselves up for disease, pain, and weight gain. Oh yeah, and Impotence and Wrinkles. Who wants those?? Here’s what’s going on:

When you eat Carbohydrates ( pasta, fruit, starchy veggies, ALL GRAINS, beans, and skim milk products), your body breaks them down to GLUCOSE/SUGAR. When your blood stream ( where all the glucose goes after digestion) becomes OVER full of glucose (easy, because it doesn’t take much), much of the EXCESS carbs are converted to Triglycerides, (a fat), and deposited in your fat cells. IF ONLY THIS WERE THE EXTENT OF THOSE DARN EXCESS CARBS. Fatness. But it’s not…. When excess sugar is consumed, it takes the body a while to clear it from the blood stream back down to “normal” levels (80-100mg). During that time, the excess sugar is literally wrecking havoc on your brain, your joints, your immune system, your mood, your organs, your nerve cells, and your blood vessels. The damage accumulates slowly, but it’s happening. 100% guarantee.

What about the Impotence and Wrinkles? When your blood sugar is chronically high, which is typical if you eat the Standard American Diet ( 5-6 meals of grains, sugars, and “low fat” foods), glucose is allowed to linger in the blood too long. This give the Sugar/Glucose molecules the opportunity to attach to proteins ( in the blood, or on the body, like the cells lining your blood vessels, brain, joints, or skin, for example). When this happens, it’s called an Advanced Glycated Endproduct (AGE); here’s where, Bad Stuff happens. Cells in your Blood Vessels are unable to produce Nitric Oxide, and blood flow is impeded. There’s your Impotence.

When it happens in the skin, the AGE’s attach to the protein Collagen; stiffness and lack of blood flow, and clumps of debris cause: wrinkles, inflammation, inhibited skin cell growth, liver spots, and general “accelerated aging”.

It always comes down to TOO MUCH SUGAR. What if you don’t eat sugar? What if you’re not overweight? If you’re eating any amount of Carbohydrate ( whole grains/ whole wheat/flour products, or beans) they’re digested down to GLUCOSE/SUGAR. Period. Each time/every time/all the time. Our body breaks food down to it’s barest molecules. Always. You don’t need to eat “sugar” to have sugar in the blood. Read above sentence.

Okay, back to Impotence and Wrinkles: they’re bad. No one wants them. But we’ve also got the fact that if you have elevated sugar/glucose in your blood, your body WON’T pull fat from your FAT STORES to burn for energy. Even if you’re working out. Sugar’s toxic, the body needs to clear it ASAP; fat’s NOT toxic, so the body converts the excess sugar to fat and stores it.

Am I convincing you yet that you need to give up your bread and pasta? Are you addicted?? Here’s a little clip from a show called Portlandia; it’s about Pasta Addiction, and it’s maybe one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. You might relate.

I’m at a hotel for 3 days during my Nutritional Therapy Weekend, so I want to post my meals and workouts.

Yesterday: No Workout:( Left the house too early and had to do homework first.

I’m off to the gym now, but I don’t want to leave you thinking: damn, I’m in trouble. A lot of damage can be reversed, honestly. Start eating Real Whole Food Fats (they’re healthy), cut way down on your carbs (especially flours/grains and sugars), include healthy proteins and tons of vegetables, cook, pack, and practice paying attention to your food. Read Practical Paleo or Grain Brain or any of the great “how to eat books and why” that are out there. It’s never too late! Let me know how you’re doing:)